Determine whether 1.2 x 105 or 1.2 x 106 is

closer to one million. Explain.

Answer: 1.2 * 10^6 is closer to one million

Explanation:

1.2 * 10^5 = 120,000

1.2 * 10^6 = 1,200,000

Subtract each value from 1,000,000 and make the result positive through absolute value

|1,000,000 - 120,000| = |880,000| = 880,000

|1,000,000 - 1,200,000| = |-200,000| = 200,000

The smaller result is 200,000

So 1,200,000 is closer to 1 million

1,200,000 = 1.2 million